The magic at Purcell continues. Syracuse joins the list with North Carolina, DePaul, Marquette, San Francisco and UCLA. For the sixth consecutive time, and first in nearly 25 years, a #1 team arrives at the Purcell Pavilion and leaves with a loss.

Jumping out to an early 11-2 advantage, the Fighting Irish led from the beginning and never looked back. Tonight’s win is the eighth in program history over an opponent ranked first in the Associated Press Poll.

The last win came on Feb. 1, 1987, when the top ranked North Carolina Tar Heels visited South Bend and lost to Digger Phelps Irish team, 60-58. But enough with stats and history…

As a student, I was fortunate to see several exciting games, but I’ve never seen anything like what we were privileged to witness tonight. From the opening tip-off, the faithful Leprechaun Legion treated every Irish basket like it was a game-winning buzzer beater. And it was Jack Cooley’s two-handed slam in the second half that seemed to provide the assurance that on this evening, South Bend was destined to be Upset City.

Tonight, was a perfect example of the beauty of sports and how anything can happen on any given night. The 2011-12 Notre Dame men’s basketball team proved that it can play with the best of them.

Overall, just an incredible night for the team, fans and students. I have no doubt that Jan. 21, 2012 is a night that will be talked about when the current classes of students celebrate their respective 30- or 40-year Notre Dame reunions.

Right now, I’m still trying to process/soak in what just happened. We’ll have plenty of coverage coming on UND.com later this weekend on Notre Dame’s upset at Purcell. Keep an eye out for the latest Irish Connection, which is sure to feature some more great footage from the post-game scene on the court, but for now, I’ll leave you with this video, from my perspective on the court.

Update: The videos below are Fighting Irish Digital Media’s coverage of the game.

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